The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-14
Southern Farmers.

The statement hos been published recent
ly in more than one Georgia paper that the
farmers of this and some Of the other South
ern States are gradually becoming poorer,
ard that if they were suddenly required to
pay their debts the great majority of them
would be found to be insolvent. This doubt
less is an exaggerated statement. II may
be that, as a rule, Southern farmers are not
very prosperous hut their condition is not
rs bad as some Of them seem 90 think it is
They have suffered to some extent, within
the last few years, from poor crops and low
prices, but they are not on the verge of
bankruptcy. A prosperous year would be
sufficient to put the most of them on their
feet again, and while that is the case there
Is no occasion for despairing.
Farmers ought to know their own bust
ness better than those not engaged in farm
ing, but it does seem as if they make a
grave mistake in paying so little attention
to the advice that is given them with re-
spect TO their devotion to cotton. They re
fuse to give up the idea that in cotton alone
there is profit Year after year they plant
little else than cotton, simply because it
10 consider whether it costs them more to
raise it than they get for it. If they were
to keep strict account of all the expenses
of producing a crop of cotton they would
be surprised how little, if any, the profit on
it is. IF they could be induced to plant
half the number of acres of cotton they do,
and to cultivate food crops sufficient to
supply their wants they would find their
pocketbooks in a much better condition at
the end of the year than they do now
To sell cotton at a low price and buy
bacon, corn and hay at high prices will
make any farmer poor in time. The sup
plies for the plantation must be bought and
paid for whether the cotton crop is good or
bad, and if the cotton doesn't furnish the
money for the Supplies mortgage is re-
sorted to to get it.
A farmer whose farm is burdened with a
mortgage is generally in a bad way.
Neither rain nor droughts affect the interest
ON a mortgage. That increases right along.
night and day, week in and week out, and
before the farmer knows it his farm is in
the hands Of the Sheriff.
Southern farmers are not careful enough
about small things. They don't look closely
after the butter, eggs, poultry, etcy In
sterile Vermont, New Hampshire and other
New England States, these things are
the source of great profit. Indeed without
them many of the farmers in those States
would not be able to make living at all
In the South, particularly ON farms which
are given up almost wholly to cotton,
scarcely any attention is paid to but
ter or poultry, and less to fruit and vege-
tables. All of these things are looked upon
as too trif1ing to be bothered with. South
ern farmers viii never be convinced of their
mistake, however, until necessity forces
them to make a change in their method of
farming.
How many Southern farmers are there
who carefully collect all the materials about
their farms that are fitted for manuring
purposes! The number doubtless is small,
and yet there are very few of them
who do not purchase expensive commercial
fertilizers every year. They might collect
fertilizing materials ON their farms which
would do their land as much good as the
fertilizers they buy. Let Southern farmers
look more closely after the little things that
are worthy of attention on their farms and
they will very soon notice an Improvement
in their affairs.